I played Yandere Simulator in 2026... it was a mess

Storyline (Main Campaign)

• You play Ayano Aishi, part of the Aishi “curse”—she cannot normally feel emotions, and her family’s lore treats her obsession as something genetic/passed down.
• After meeting Senpai, Ayano becomes fixated on him and decides she must stop other girls (“rivals”) from winning his love.
• The campaign follows a week-by-week school schedule:
  • You must eliminate/neutralize Rival #1, then proceed to Rival #2, and so on.
  • Rivals generally attempt their confession on the 5th day (end of Friday).
  • If you don’t interfere, Senpai is lost to that rival.

Gameplay Highlights (What the Video Emphasizes)

Difficulty & Friction (Tediousness via Settings)

On launch, the player is forced through extra difficulty hoops to “play properly,” such as:

• Small weapons having limited uses
• Blunt weapons causing blood, leading to increased detection/annoyance

Tutorial + “Infochan” (Help, but Heavily Criticized)

• The game uses Infochan as an in-world guide/“cheat” system that provides:
  • What to do and when to do it
  • Which items/resources to use
  • Info and guidance that can significantly reduce exploration
• The creator criticizes Infochan as the worst part, arguing it undermines exploration and makes eliminations feel like a follow-the-script process.

General Objective Loop for Eliminations

Between key rivalry moments, the loop typically includes:

• Explore the school/town
• Complete student tasks (often repetitive “placeholder” tasks like library research)
• Build reputation by befriending classmates
• Use information systems:
  • Pull out Ayano’s smartphone
  • Take pictures to gain info points and “Yandere Vision” tags

Elimination Styles and Tradeoffs

• Peaceful social sabotage options:
  • Make Senpai reject a rival
  • Befriend/turn people against them
  • “Bullying” them out
• Violent elimination options:
  • Direct removal and assassination/sprees
• The video highlights consequences:
  • Violent approaches reduce school atmosphere and make people feel unsafe
  • You must avoid/manage police attention
  • If you become insane, detection behavior increases (e.g., longer attack animations, giggling, more uncontrolled aggression)

Week-by-Week Examples (Rivals #1 and #2)

Rival 1: Osana

Key Stated Plan (One Playthrough Run)

• Monday sabotage (bento poisoning via rat poison)

  • Steal the gardening club leader’s key to access a shed with rat poison
  • Put rat poison into Osana’s bento so that when she gives it to Senpai, the meeting is sabotaged

• Ongoing prep

  • Befriend many students and complete tasks (many are repetitive, often library-based placeholder tasks)
  • Do more intricate side tasks, including:
    • Mixing paint and setting up a trap so someone gets covered in paint and is photographed
    • Concealed equipment tasks (e.g., dumbbell in a bucket)
    • “Fixing”/wrenching training dummy setups
    • Delivering unusual items (e.g., a car battery)

• Tuesday sabotage (damaging the sentimental book)

  • A sentimental book Senpai gives Osana is thrown into water to ruin it and make her look careless

• Wednesday sabotage (phone manipulation via inappropriate images)

  • The route involves liquid/paint-like requirements (linked to difficulty settings)
  • Since Ryoba (Osana’s best friend) blocks straightforward violence, the method becomes phone-based framing/sabotage:
    • Steal Osana’s phone
    • Put inappropriate images on it
    • Return it so Osana shows Senpai the phone

• Thursday sabotage (making Senpai’s music unacceptable to Osana)

  • Sabotage Osana’s J-pop expectation by swapping it for a different audio style
  • The described variations include Discord audio / My Little Pony / anti-J-pop content, depending on the step

Resolution / Ending

• After the week, cutscenes play out, culminating in Osana’s removal via the chosen method.
• The video notes the subsequent “law” segment is inconsistent/illogical.

Rival 2: Amai (Rapid Elimination)

• The creator contrasts Rival 2 with Rival 1 by showing:
  • Amai is eliminated before she even properly enters the academy
  • The pace is dramatically faster and less drawn out than Osana’s week-long process
• A “caught in the act” moment is mentioned:
  • Attacking can quickly lead to being spotted by a gate teacher, triggering law enforcement consequences

Other Modes and Key Points

Mission Mode

• The creator says they barely tried it (only one run on max difficulty).
• It is described as:
  • Eliminating a single student with constraints (including required weapon/body disposal method)
  • Otherwise using similar mechanics to the main mode

1980s Mode

• Includes more rivals (10), but is criticized as feeling like it was made through shortcuts:
  • No Infochan (meaning more figuring things out)
  • Yet eliminations are repetitive/very similar
  • “Weeks” feel empty, making it a slog
• Features a courtroom ending where “right vs wrong” actions influence how supportive or condemning the outcome feels

Strategies / Key Tips Mentioned (Implied in the Walkthrough)

• Use the smartphone photo-taking system to gather info points and tag NPCs in Yandere Vision
• Steal keys early to access resources needed for sabotage (e.g., rat poison via gardening shed access)
• Befriend students to unlock benefits (even if many tasks are repetitive)
• Avoid insanity when possible:
  • More insanity increases alarming behavior, giggling, and longer attack animations
• Be careful with violent approaches:
  • They can reduce atmosphere and quickly increase police attention
• Save/load is risky and exploitable (criticized):
  • The creator claims many glitches relate to saving/loading and points viewers to Drippy for unintended exploits

Criticisms / Themes the Creator Repeatedly Highlights

• Poor polish and bugs, such as:
  • Resolution not sticking
  • Save/load instability causing glitches
• Tutorial/Infochan design conflicts with exploration
  • The game feels less sandbox-like because crucial knowledge is pushed by Infochan
• Highly controversial content
  • The creator strongly criticizes “panty shots” mechanics and says the game should not reward that behavior
• Law/story inconsistencies
  • The creator argues the academy should be legally a high school, and that later justification implies it is post–high school
  • Adds fantastical elements (succubus/vampire succubus) described as tonally absurd
• Music praised
  • Dynamic music changes with atmosphere and sanity, and the video argues it’s one of the game’s best features

Gamers / Sources Featured

• Drippy (referenced for videos about unintended glitches/exploits)
• Markiplier (mentioned as a YouTuber who played the game)
• PewDiePie (mentioned as a YouTuber who played the game)
• Michaela Laws (voice actor for Ayano; credited and discussed)
• Five Nights at Freddy’s (referenced as a franchise that occurred during the game’s long development)